Comparison of T lymphocyte subsets in aplastic anemia and hypoplastic myelodysplastic syndromes

Aims: This study aims to compare the proportion of peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets and related blood cell and bone marrow cytology indexes between patients with aplastic anemia (AA) and hypoplastic myelodysplastic syndrome (hypo-MDS), and investigate the clinical identification significance. Materials and methods: A total of 41 patients with AA and 46 patients with hypo-MDS were collected, and the proportions of peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets, CD3-CD16/CD56(+) NK cells, CD3(+) CD57(+) T-LGL cells and CD19(+) B lymphocytes were detected by flow cytometry. Key findings: The CD4(+)/CD8(+) ratio decreased in the AA and hypo-MDS groups, and the difference was statistically significant when compared with that in the control group (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between AA and hypo-MDS groups (P > 0.05). The proportions of CD3-CD16/CD56(+) NK cells and CD3(+) CD57(+) T-LGL cells in the hypo-MDS group were distinctly higher than those in the AA group (P < 0.05). However, the proportion of CD19(+) B lymphocyte was obviously lower than that in the AA group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the proportions of reticulocytes, bone marrow progenitor cells and immature red blood cells in the hypo-MDS group were significantly more than those in the AA group (P < 0.05), and the proportion of mature lymphocytes in the hypo-MDS group was distinctly lower than that in the AA group (P < 0.05). Significance: Changes of T lymphocyte subsets and the proportions of large granular lymphocytes and B lymphocytes can be utilized as indexes in the differential diagnosis between AA and hypo-MDS.